LGBTQIA+ Marsha Molinari: Queen of Clubs, Heart of Gold How one Hollywood icon is changing the world, one act of kindness at a time By Simha Haddad
I n the heart of Hollywood, a man in a baseball cap drives up and down Argyle Avenue. Since COVID-19 ravaged through Los Angeles, the view from the street looks very different than from the penthouses towering overhead. Tents line the avenue for as far as the eye can see, and children run barefoot beneath the underpass. The man smiles as he hands out McDonald’s meals to each homeless person, stopping periodically to have a conversation with anyone who wants to chat. As he drives away, he leaves each person fed by his innate kindness. The man in the cap is none other than legendary Hollywood icon Marsha Molinari. When not delivering free meals to the homeless or backpacks for the start of school to underprivileged children, you can find Molinari gracing the upper echelons of Los Angeles nightlife wearing a stunning ball gown or custom-made sequined dress. Known to his closest friends as Marsha, she is a fabulous staple in the glitz and glam of Hollywood. She is the “Queen of Clubs.” Marsha is a part of H.wood group—a leading LA- based powerhouse that owns many celebrity hotspots such as The Nice Guy, Harriet’s Rooftop, Sant’olina, and Delilah—a 1920s-themed dinner and drinks spot with a sign out front that reads, “nothing to see here.” But, of course, with a myriad of the world’s biggest stars sipping martinis at private velvet booths, comfortable to be themselves due to the restaurant’s “no photos” policy, there is actually everything to see here. Molinari is also involved with many other hotspots outside of LA, such as Delilah Las Vegas, Harriet’s Rooftop in Toronto, and Bootsy Bellows in Aspen, to name a few. But it is not only Molinari’s reputation as a prominent restauranteur and club owner that precedes him. Whether it be with a homeless person who receives a meal from Molinari, or an a-list celeb at the top of the game, Molinari has a knack for leaving a lasting impression. His calm yet mysterious presence is the subject of many pop culture references. Molinari appears regularly in film and TV shows, and he is also mentioned in several mainstream songs by artists like Drake. He is a writer, actor, and the subject of much press for his graceful navigation of his star-studded and glamorous lifestyle. So, why does a prominent restauranteur and high- level socialite choose to spend so much of his time actively involved in bettering the community? As Molinari explains, he is no stranger to hardships. “I was left alone a lot as a child. Even when I was three or four
Project, which aims to prevent LGBTQIA+ suicide. He is also involved with Imagine LA, a charity that focuses on helping the victims of domestic abuse. Molinari explains that while he is immensely grateful for his success, which he meditates on daily, his philanthropic work is what feeds his soul. “It can’t all be party and luxury all the time,” he says. “There has to be purpose, and there is nothing more fulfilling than giving back. I mean, what else are we here for if not for each other?” Molinari’s philanthropic purpose blossomed even more during the pandemic when the nightlife industry took a massive hit due to COVID-19, and H.wood had to furlough nearly fifteen hundred employees. “It was such a shock,” says Molinari, who sees H.wood as a second family. To him, it felt like having to start over again. “It hurt. I just felt lost.” Soon, he realized that amid the pandemic’s crushing blow, he also had the rare opportunity to step back and reflect in a way that his non-stop lifestyle would not normally allow. “You always say, ‘when I slow down, I’m going to work on myself, I’m going to go to the gym....’ Well, here I am with all the time in the world. I filled my entire day with meditations and podcasts, and learning. I thought about my body and spirituality and what I wanted out of life. I started being more grateful for the things that I did have rather than what was taken away from me.” Molinari says that this new level of self-reflection reminded him of how close we all are to homelessness. He explains that if something like COVID-19 had happened to him when he was eighteen and working his first job at the mall in Los Angeles, barely able to make ends meet, “I would have been homeless myself.” To Molinari, the dichotomy between the view from the penthouses overlooking Argyle Avenue versus the view from the tent-lined streets is one he will always carry with him as he continues to spread his light. “I had this thought when I was in a chauffeured limousine before the pandemic, looking at the line at a gay nightclub. I remembered being a young kid waiting in line there, not having eaten for days, just wanting to get in. I had a vision of me getting out of the car and walking up to my younger self and saying: it’s going to be okay.” One thing is sure: the kindness and love that Marsha Molinari chooses to impart everyday does make the world feel a lot more okay.
Marsha Molinari
years old. I didn’t have toys, but I had a mop. That made me really creative.” It was with this learned creativity and self-sustain- ability that at 18, he left his highly religious home in Visalia, California, bound for a better life in Los Angeles. “I remember I almost crashed my car the first time I saw two men holding hands in the street,” says Molinari, who until then had never faced that he was gay. “It just was not talked about. No one ever explained it.” Because of the prejudice and hardships Molinari faced growing up, he is now deeply involved in the Trevor
@markusmolinari
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